Looking at the sun helps show how the lines between science and art can sometimes blur. A gradient filter enhances areas of contrast, which makes them both more striking visually and also easier for astronomers to study. Scientists can get a better look at coronal loops, for example — giant arcs of solar material that travel along magnetic fields in the sun's atmosphere. This can lead to an improved understanding of solar magnetism as a whole, which can also power eruptions on the sun such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections.

Wow- some great screen saver pics! I can't get enough of these far away shots at what lurks beyond the earth, so lovely and awe-inspiring. That Rex-helix novae looks just like the old CBS logo, I swear, uncanny!

Carl Sagan: "How is it that we can see stars that are billions of light-years away from us if the Universe is only 6,000 years old (according to Christian Bible)? Light travels at a constant velocity, 186,000 miles per second and it takes billions of years for light to traverse these tremendous distances to reach our eyes; the Universe is certainly billions of years old." (paraphrased)